NBA's top 5 players: Where do Kevin Durant, Steph Curry rank?

Wed, Jul 6, 2022
NBA News (AP)

When discussing the top five current players in the NBA, what holds more value: individual accolades, team success or a combination of both?

Skip Bayless broke it all down on "Undisputed" by ranking the top five players currently in the league. A spoiler: He had Kevin Durant at the top.

With Kevin Durant's future with the Brooklyn Nets in question, Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe to rank their top five players in the NBA.

"Kevin Durant, amid all the Kyrie-caused chaos, had a career-high in every category in just 55 games because he was hurt," Bayless said. "Also, Kevin Durant is no liability on the defensive end like other people I could refer to."

Here's Bayless' entire list.

5. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

Key stats: Curry averaged 25.5 points, 6.3 assists, and 5.2 rebounds per game while shooting 38% from 3 and 92.3% from the free-throw line. Curry led the Golden State Warriors to the 2022 NBA championship.

4. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Key stats: Jokic averaged 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 7.9 assists per game while shooting 58.3% from the floor en route to his second-consecutive regular-season league MVP award.

3.Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

Key stats: The Sixers center averaged 30.6 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists on 49.9% shooting from the floor. Embiid also averaged 1.1 steals and 1.5 blocks per game in his sixth season with Philly.

2. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Key stats: Antetokounmpo, in his ninth season, averaged 29.9 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game in 67 games for the Milwaukee Bucks.

"Giannis is the second-best player in basketball," Bayless said. "Embiid is slightly better than Jokic so I'll go Embiid at three and Joker at four. Steph is five because they did just win the championship. He ranks slightly ahead of Luka at six and LeBron comes in at seven."

1. Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets

Key stats: Durant, despite missing a third of the season, averaged 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and a career-high 6.4 assists per game on 51.8% shooting from the field and a career-high 91.0% from the free-throw line before getting swept in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.